Lesson Plan Template GENERAL INFORMATION Name: Minda Morgan Date Lesson to be taught: November 2011 Grade Level:

Grade 4 Course: General Music Unit of Study: Civil War/ Spirituals Topics/Concepts to be addressed: For this lesson I am going to teach the spiritual "Follow the drinking Gourd." Through this song we will cover this history of the piece, and the music concepts behind it. We will be using a handout of information on the piece and will decode the hidden message behind the song.

Materials needed by the students (including use of technology): Sheet music Materials needed by the teacher (including use of technology): Piano CD Sheet music

Category of Special Needs (e.g. reading disability, gifted, hearing impaired, above grade level, ELL ect) N/A

Accommodation (based on knowledge of students, content, and best practices in education)

Rationale (explanation of how the stated accommodation will enhance student learning)

Class Dynamics-special situations that might affect the class, snow days, right before a holiday, returning from holiday, class after recess, assembly or recess interruptions, scheduling conflicts, etc. This class meets very early in the morning so I will need to work hard to keep students actively engaged in the lesson. Lines to be taught from The Musical Classroom: "Follow the drinking gourd"

Standard/Benchmark/ Grade Level Indicator Creative Expression and communication: Students sing, play instruments, improvise, compose, read and notate music Benchmark A: Perform a piece of music, independently or in a group, with technical accuracy and expression 2. Demonstrate technical accuracy, appropriate tone quality, articulation and expression for the work being performed

The student will be able to: Means of Assessment Sing Follow the Drinking Gourd as a group with technical accuracy and musical expression Informal assessment: Students will be assessed as I walk around the classroom to gauge students muscial accuracy and participation

Lesson Introduction-Gaining Attention, setting the stage, stimulating recall of prerequisite learning: Good morning class! Who can tell me what they remember learning about the underground railroad from history class last year?

Planned procedure and material information you wish to cover. Put these in an orderly logical flow so you can go step by step. Be a thorough as possible in your first lesson plans so you can get through the entire lesson smoothly: Step: 1. Hand out 2 worksheets for Following the Drinking Gourd 2.Have discussion on what they remember about the underground railroad 3.Discuss basic history of the song- Have students refer to handouts 4.Play recording for them-ask them to follow along with the lyrics 5.Break down lyrics and have discussion of the importance behind them and the coded words. Discuss the impact of this song. 5.Play melody on piano and break down song into fragments. Have students sing each verse and keep in mind the coded words 7.Sing song all the way through with the recording 8. Sing the song the whole way through with the piano. 9. Ask students to stand and sing this song as they step to the beat

Closure-bring the less to an appropriate and timely closure: To close, I am going to have review everything that we covered in class by asking the kids in the class questions about the coded words. Extension activity: The students will be asked to take their music home and practice it. I will also challenge them to try and make their own hidden code of directions!

Reflection: Overall, I felt like this was a successful lesson. After watching the video I feel that I could have use a lot more energy and felt that I needed to pay more attention to making sure all students were engaged throughout the whole lesson. The students seemed to really enjoy finding the hidden words and the incorporating the history of the piece really seemed to help students make the connections from their previous knowledge of the underground railroad.